One
Dagon
It was a slow, cool day with a breeze that snuck up your spine. I roamed the street of merchant's stalls as I kept my eye on her. It was my job to watch the woman several stalls away from me.
She had a slender body with long blonde wavy hair that reached her waist. I couldn't figure out why she was trouble, she looked so innocent. What could someone like her do to disturb the lives of humans and mystic creatures?
There were many types in Paxton, a city that blended together both human and supernatural beings. The supernaturals all lived in the inner-city: Vampires, the blood suckers; Werewolves, the moon howlers; Witches, the tricksters of the bunch, if you weren’t careful; the Nymphs, the sexiest and most charming...literally; and Satyrs, the brawns and rumored as the most handsome. I smirked thinking this, considering I myself am a Satyr.
A week ago we were very close to catching her, Camira. A beautiful name for someone who was considered a dangerous threat. Watching her now, she was only meandering around the stalls. I just don’t get how she could be a menace. As aware as I was trained to be, I looked behind my shoulder and found Zane, my partner as a prison guard, eyeing anyone who even looked the tiniest bit suspicious of a crime. I rolled my eyes once again and brought them back onto the woman.
What!? Where’d she go!!
I growled in frustration and called shortly, “Zane!”
Zane’s hard gaze connected with my frustrated mask of a face, and he dodged around people to get to me. Immediately noticing my frustration after hearing it in the way I called out, he looked around.
“You lost her!?” Zane accused.
His hard tone used to frighten me when we first met, but we both know that he’s an asshole and isn’t afraid to show it.
“Nooo, I’ve just lost sight of her for a moment.” I said defensively.
“That’s the same damn thing, you bastard.” Zane growled under his breath.
I gave him a glare in response.
Zane gave one even nastier than mine right back, and I knew I lost this round of glaring.
“Are you ready to give up and call in for some help?” Zane asked with a smirk, knowing it pissed me off when he knew we needed more than the two of us.
I puffed out my chest even more than normal and gave him a ‘no’ response.
“Well, too bad.” Zane snapped, and took out his phone. “I’m done with this woman and the shit we’ve been through to catch up with her every time she manages to disappear.” Then he punched a number in.
“Zane.” I said, a sorry attempt to try and stop the call.
“Shut it.” Zane rasped quickly before the line was picked up on the other end.
Then Zane spoke into the phone, and it was all planned out, and of course I’m always the one not notified of Zane’s plans. Only hearing one side of the conversation, I felt like the follower instead of the leader.
Camira
The man was following me again; he found me. All day I’ve been trying not to be so noticeable, but my long hair and black skirt that showed one leg only, billowed in the wind, making me noticeable. It didn’t help either that I was still wearing the outfit I had on from the night of running to the nightclub in search of Kenna. Ever since that night, Kenna has had a bright pink glow to her, and her mate...meaning love.
Anyways, what am I supposed to do? As a Horned One, I knew he was a guard, but he
hasn’t taken any action yet. I’m pretty sure that now that they’ve found me, they’re just watching from a distance.
When I felt his gaze shift to his menacing partner, who kind of gave me the heebie-jeebies, I quickly glided into the nearby alleyway and took a route through the buildings taking me in the opposite direction, far behind them. I used the wind as my guide and listened for any dead ends.
For a while there was no commotion to be heard, and I looked up at the sky enjoying the short time alone. All of the sudden, I rounded a corner and found a boy in nothing but scrubs running in my direction. What was I to do? I had to think fast. I stood there ready for anything, and studied the young boy. He looked very pallid and stuck to the shadows as best he could. A vampire.
“Ma’am, please. It’s my mother. Come help.” He was pulling on my arm now and looked very stressed. Stressed over his mother.
Do I choose to help this little boy, or should I heed the warning Kallan gave me two weeks ago about the danger of Paxton? Looking at the vampire now I saw that he only looked to be ten in human years ñ probably about
thirty-five as a vampire ñ and couldn’t be harmful at all.
“Please!” He was fiercely begging now, his voice squeaking the way a maturing boy’s voice would crack.
“Okay, okay,” I agreed. “I’m not sure how much I can do though.” I tried to pull myself out of the agreement already.
But of course it didn’t work, and the boy waved me on, speeding as fast as a vampire could down the alley and around a corner.
I sighed with frustration, and anxiety showed in my undertone. I could just leave now, but that wasn’t who I was. I just never had it in me to leave in these situations. I sighed again, this time bringing the wind with me as leaves and trash blew around me and crashed against the building walls. There was no other way in which I was to find the vampire. Unless I could sense him through the wind.
Soon enough I could see a light trace of purple weaving through his essence that was left behind. Fear? Why fear?
Paying no heed to the emotion weaving through the building, I followed to a dead end. A dead end that had four men in a semi circle, including him. The man...satyr I was vaguely attracted to for some unknown reason. He had a cloak on like all the others so they looked like a gang, but they weren’t just any gang. These men were commonly known as The Horned Ones. Obviously because they had long horns protruding from their crowns, but also because they’re all known to be asses. Freaking mean asses.
But as we stood there staring at each other, I noticed there was a different air to him. He stood a little off-center from the rest. Like he wasn’t all into this whole gang, stealing a woman thing. I looked closer, more interested in him than the man that was actually starting to walk forward. I noticed his dark, almost demon eyes, if it weren’t for the whites showing. He had hair that was shaggy and uneven across his forehead. The next thing I felt the need to do surprised me. I wanted to go up to him and brush that shag aside. I just had a moment to glance down at his chest and saw that, like it or not, he had a chiseled wide chest making his dark cloak hug that area. It looked hard...comfortable enough to fit my body up against.
Snapping out of it, I felt the approacher’s presence suddenly, and it scared me. His presence scared me because he was very close and put off a green glow...evilness. I took a step back too afraid to be this close to that emotion. He stepped closer and so did the other satyrs, closing the circle.
“You’re coming with us.” The evil glowing man ordered.
“Zane I-” The one I was attracted to said, drawing my attention. I noticed he tried to object with no emotion. He wanted to hide the fact that he was actually objecting.
Zane, the one who looked evil, blew hotly from his nostrils, and if you had a great imagination, you could have seen smoke coming out of his nose. I backed away, fearful, and bumped into a hard chest. Not his. I still had my attention on Zane as he spoke.
“We have her Dagon, and we’re taking her.”
The first thing that registered was his name. A strong title that matched his essence. The second thing I noticed, “Taking me? Where?” I suddenly became nervous and shifted my stance. “What have I done?”
“Like you don’t know.” Zane practically snarled, lip raised at me.
“But-” I couldn’t finish because the next thing I knew my face was covered with a potato sack and a scream bubbled up from my throat. Once a harsh cry escaped, I could find words to match my fear. “No! Please, what have I done!?”
I started to struggle and flail my arms and legs. It didn’t really bother The Horned Ones. All they needed to do was use a little teamwork and soon they had me splayed out as if they were going to pull my limbs apart. I started to arch my back, still yelling in fear at them and pulling my wrists from their hold. Nothing worked. All the wrist pulling did was give me a slight skin burn when they gripped me tighter. Arching my back didn’t really help much either, all that helped with was a crack that loosened me up a bit. I was still stuck, and now being jostled down the alleyway.
Twenty minutes later my voice felt raw and sandpapery, my spit was as thick as glue, and I’d drained all my energy. I had no energy even to try and use the strength of the wind. I was now laying; hands tied together in a small metal cubical with wheels that resembled something you arrive at the jail in. I’m going to jail. For what I don’t know, or I’ve blocked it out so I couldn’t remember. How was I supposed to get home to my sisters now?
I could just see it. Kenna pissed and planning how to get me back, Kallan stressing over one more thing in life, Kaia hiding that she truly was scared with anger and indifference. I got jostled into the side of the cubical, and a pain spiked from my shoulder down the middle of my back.
I can’t believe I’m going to Nedra, the underground prison. Well it was more like a dungeon, because it had a building above it. Or so the very few survivors said. Oh crud, I just realized, it friggin’ underground. Which means there’ll be no wind currents to feed some of my dying energy from. My other source of energy comes from someones touch, but that’s completely out of the question.
Even though it was a heating summer day a cold sweat broke out along my skin. I’m going to die even before they decide to execute me for a crime I’ve got no idea about committing.
I figured it would take awhile and because I needed to conserve as much energy as possible, I closed my eyes and found myself drifting off. Who knew what was waiting on the other side of the heavy steal door.
